Baby's First Hailstorm

On Wednesday night a super-cell storm moved through the hill country and across north Austin. Our house was right in the storm's path. Luckily, Kevin had come home early that day and we were able to make some preparations before the severe weather hit (both cars safely in the garage etc). Just before six o'clock, the sky turned dark, the wind picked up, and the heavy rains began. Soon afterward, the hail began. It was small at first (about pea-sized), but it quickly grew in size. Within five minutes, hail larger than golf-balls was pounding the house. The storm moved quickly and less than an hour from when the storm began the sky was blue and cloudless. Initially we thought the damage was only to our trees and yard, but we soon discovered that a piece of hail had broken the window in Reese's room. The window was repaired today and most of the clean up is done. Just another part of springtime in Central Texas!

Balloon Fun

After being out of town for almost a week, our house was in desperate need of groceries. On Saturday, Reese and I made a run to HEB (our local grocery store) for some essentials. Reese is not old enough to participate in the HEB Buddy Bucks program, but when we got to the check out, the checker asked if Reese would like a balloon. Unsure of what she would think I accepted one anyway. She immediately grabbed on to the ribbon attached to the balloon and held on tight. On the way home she yanked on the ribbon causing the balloon to bounce around the backseat area. She was in heaven! With every bounce she would squeal and laugh. When we got home I captured some photos of her with her first balloon.

Family Dinner

On our last night in Iowa, all of the family gathered at Uncle Rich's house for dinner. Rich grilled burgers and we spent the time catching up. While eating, Yeliz, Selene, and Michelle (Elaine's cousins) "babysat" Reese in the living room. Reese had a great time on the floor with the girls, and the girls did a GREAT job playing with Reese and keeping her safe and out of trouble. Before leaving, Reese received gifts from the Iowa family including an Iowa Hawkeye's outfit (look for pictures coming soon), a bathing suit, "parrot head" wear, and a flowery dress.

Baby's First Swim

On our third day in Iowa, Reese had her first experience in a pool. Before the trip I bought a swim diaper at a local consignment store (for the bargain basement price of $1!) in case our hotel had an indoor pool. I didn't want to buy Reese a full-fledged swimsuit because she will likely grow out of it before swim season in Texas begins. After her afternoon nap, we took Reese to the pool. She sat on the steps with mommy and wasn't sure what to think. The water was a little chilly and when her lower body was submerged she began crying. We checked out the hot tub near the pool and found that it wasn't exactly "hot"-- more like bath water, so we let Reese dip her feet in. She enjoyed the hot tub much more--especially when we turned on the bubbles. She watched the bubbles whirl around the pool and tried to "catch" them when they came near her.

Montclaire Dr NW

After our trip to the Amanas, we drove around Cedar Rapids to get a first-hand look at the devastation suffered during the recent floods. Having seen footage of boarded up houses following Katrina and other floods, I thought I knew what to expect, but I was taken aback by seeing the destruction in person. We drove down many streets near the river and downtown where all of the homes were condemned. Grandma Righter's childhood home was not effected by the floods, and we drove by to see the house. (Two days before Grandma Righter had visited with the current residents and old neighbors who still live in the area.) Beginning when I was very young, it was a tradition to take a photo in front of the pine tree in the front yard of my grandmother's house. This trip was no exception. The picture below is from a visit we made shortly before moving to England.

Iowa Day Two: The Amana Colonies

On our second day in Cedar Rapids, we took a trip to the Amana Colonies, an old German settlement about thirty minutes away. The settlement has been converted into a historic shopping area complete with a woolery, family-style German restaurants, and many other stores with local arts and crafts. It was a little chillier on our second day in Iowa (highs in the 50s), but we bundled up and walked through many stores. On our way out we stopped in a toy store and Grandma Righter bought Reese a momento of the trip--a corn on the cobb teether. While mainly a gag gift, Reese began chewing on the corn on the cobb soon after it was purchased. To make matters sillier, the corn vibrates (to massage teething gums) when chewed on.

More In Iowa

After arriving in Iowa, Reese took a brief nap at the hotel and then we were off to visit Grandma Bonar. While Grandma wasn't entirely sure of who we were at all times, she enjoyed seeing Reese and playing peek-a-boo with her. Reese loved Grandma's glasses and tried pulling them off repeatedly. It was neat to have four generations of oldest children (coincidentally all daughters) together in one place.

Iowa Adventure

Reese and I spent March 17th-20th in Cedar Rapids, IA visiting my mother's side of the family. It was a great chance for Reese to meet some relatives, including her great-grandmother.We left on St. Patrick's Day morning and flew from Austin to Dallas and then onto Cedar Rapids. This was a big day since it was Reese's first plane ride. We made it through security and onto the plane without much hassle and while I had hoped Reese might sleep on the flight, she was mesmerized by all of the people and activity around her. She fussed on and off during the flight but spent most of her time trying to get the attention of all the surrounding passengers with her giggles and shrieks. One of the flight attendants gave Reese her first pair of "wings." (They now pass out fabric sticker wings instead of metal ones. I plan on putting it in Reese's baby book.) Reese fell asleep on the Dallas Skylink as we changed terminals and got in a quick nap before our flight to Iowa. The plane to Iowa was much smaller than our first and we got two seats to ourselves near the back of the plane. After a delay due to a broken landing light, and a request from the pilot for 3 adults to move toward the rear of the plane to help balance it (scary!) we were finally on our way. Reese enjoyed playing with all of the fun things on the plane including the seat belt, tray table, and window shade. After much screaming she finally took a short nap before landing in Iowa. When we arrived we thought we were in the wrong place--the temperature was 73 degrees! The Iowains were in heaven. More to come...

"Real Toys:" Volume Three

I think this thread has become self-explanatory. Note the new interests: pita chip bag (love the crinkles) and the bag clip.

Hands and Knees

Following dinner I captured some of Reese's tummy time. Does she look crawling-ready?

Peek A Boo

After dinner tonight, Reese and I played a game of peek-a-boo in her high chair. Instead of covering my face, I hid under the tray for the high chair. I set up the tripod to video the results. I love how she looks for me every time I disappear!

Push-up Power

Reese has been making some steady progress toward (what will hopefully be) crawling. She can successfully get both her chest and bottom off the ground, though seldom at the same time. On the rare occasion that she does coordinate this move, she freezes in the crawling position (on hands and knees) for a few seconds and then collapses. She's enjoying being on her tummy more and can use her arms to turn herself toward objects she wants to grab. She hasn't figured out how to move forwards yet using the "army crawl" which I hear is usually a first step, but we'll keep watching during the next few weeks. Starting two days ago she has also been lifting herself off the ground in a push-up or plank form. The photos I snapped aren't the best since she doesn't' give a whole lot of notice that she's about to attempt this feat, so forgive the quality, but enjoy marveling at Reese's new-found strength.

"Real Toys:" Volume Two

Another one of Reese's favorite "real" toys are spoons. Since she began eating solid foods, she has always grabbed for the spoon during meals and she nearly always guides the spoon to her mouth. As a "reward" (and way to keep her occupied) while I cleaned up after meals or got the food ready, I would give her a spoon to play with. Unfortunately, the first spoons we used were long and she would occasionally gag on them. Chesley turned us on to the Gerber spoon and we LOVE them. They are short, soft, and have a great handle for Reese to grip. (They will also be great when she begins scooping her own food.) Reese now likes to take the spoon with her, and when presented with a wide array of toys, she almost always goes for the spoon first. Case in point: while in her exersaucer, she doesn't play with the toys that surround her, she instead chews on her spoon.

Highchair Heyday

Reese has been using her Bumbo chair during meals and for general sitting for several months now. (I know it was labeled 3+months, but she got an early start.) When we first started using the Bumbo it was a lifesaver! She could sit with us at the dinner table or watch while I washed the dishes. It was also the location for all of her first attempts at solid foods. Unfortunately, the Bumbo is no longer suitable for feeding. Reese is simply too active for the Bumbo--if that makes any sense. When placed in it, she immediately starts trying to climb out--either via the front or the side. Even with the tray in place, she manages to get her entire upper body out of the chair and grabs for anything within her reach. When mommy or daddy try to rangle her back into the chair, she screams and then arches her back (and since the Bumbo is backless) throwing herself out of the rear. All of these incidents led to the purchase of Reese's first highchair today. (The Bumbo is staying on hand for other uses and playtime.)

I did some research online and headed to the baby store after Reese's morning nap. I took her to the highchair aisle and proceeded to put her in every model I was willing to purchase. She has some definite preferences. While it wasn't the model I orginally had in mind, we ended up purchasing a Chicco brand highchair (pictured above). It had all the features I was looking for and more (and the Graco model I orginally liked had a fabric seat--talk about staining).

After two trial runs this afternoon (one for a bottle and snack and the other for "dinner") I'm pretty excited about this new phase. The seat of the highchair reclines, so if I give Reese her bottle and recline it slightly she can feed herself! I sit and watch carefully (for now of course) to make sure she doesn't choke, but she holds the bottle with both hands and goes to town. How grown up and independent she's getting! She is also able to sit upright and play with toys on the tray. By far her favorite "feature" of the highchair is that she can look down on Annie (who is always nearby waiting expectantly for crumbs) and pet her head. My only complaint so far is the tray which sticks a little as you slide it in and out, but with use this may improve.